Thursday, November 17, 2011

What I Crave: Steven Smith No. 45 Peppermint Leaves

I'm a diehard coffee fan. So, it's pretty surprising that I could fall in love with an herbal tea. Well, I did. I fell head over heels in love with Steven Smith No. 45 from Portland, OR. And, the delivery of this tea may have been my most demanding pregnancy wish.

You're probably wondering how a San Francisco resident discovered a Portland tea. If you're thinking I discovered it on a visit to Portland, you'd be wrong. It came tucked into my orders from GemKitty. (If you didn't follow my wedding blog, I purchased all of the maids' jewelry, as well as mine, from this Portland, OR-based studio. Arrs, the sorceress behind GemKitty, is also my sister-in-law.) Arrs personally writes a note with each order. At the time I ordered my wedding jewelry, she included a packet or two of the tea she was drinking in her studio. (She now includes 100% organic, all natural lollipops with each order.)

When I got pregnant and was trying to avoid all caffeine, I turned to the tea Arrs had sent me. And, I got hooked on Steven Smith No. 45. If you want to be transported from the every day, I highly recommend brewing a cup of No. 45.

cubes and I talk pretty regularly to Arrs and Todd (her husband). On our last call, I asked if they could send some of the Peppermint Leaves our way. Little did I know this was not going to be a wish that was easily fulfilled. You can't just pop down to the corner tea shop or grocery and pick up No. 45. Arrs had to take a special trip to the tea factory itself to find the tea. I now have 30 magical escapes awaiting me (fewer if I decide to share - I may just call the pregnancy card into play here and keep it all).

Huge thank yous to Arrs of GemKitty for finding a stash of this tea and Todd of Vizify for hand delivering it!

What's your favorite tea? How did you discover it?

Bon Apetit!

Eden

P.S. I know two "What I Crave" posts in one week! I'll be sharing the backlog of food books that are occupying my bedside nightstand after dinner tonight. I got so sidetracked by my tea that I just had to share. I hope you don't mind.

Credits: All images taken by Eden Hensley Silverstein for Recipes for the Good Life.